Posted on 11/30/2021 12:56:48 PM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the beloved musical “West Side Story” finally began to screen for awards voters over the weekend ahead of its Christmas Day release. First reactions are pouring out as the film’s official premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles gets underway. Early reactions are offering praise for Spielberg’s direction and high marks for Rachel Zegler as Maria in her film debut.
The musical premiered mere days after the death of Stephen Sondheim (who wrote the lyrics for the original production, with a book by Arthur Laurents and score by Leonard Bernstein) at the age of 91. Highest praise for the new film version came from the composer himself, who back in September dropped by “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” to talk about the most recent stage production of “Company” and, of course, Spielberg’s movie.
“It’s really terrific,” Sondheim said of the film. “Everybody go. You’ll really have a good time. And for those of you who know the show, there’s going to be some real surprises.”
Sondheim said that’s because of Pulitzer Prize-winner Tony Kushner, who has received two screenplay Oscar nominations for adapting the Spielberg films “Munich” and “Lincoln.”
Sondheim said Kushner “has done some really imaginative and surprising things with the way the songs are used in the story, and the whole thing has real sparkle to it and real energy, and it feels fresh. It’s really first-grade, and movie musicals are hard to do and this one, Spielberg and Kushner really, really nailed it.”
In addition to Zegler, this new version stars Ansel Elgort as Tony, Ariana DeBose as Anita, and David Alvarez as Bernardo. Rita Moreno, Best Supporting Actess Oscar winner for the original Best Picture-winning film, also makes a cameo appearance as Valentina.
(Excerpt) Read more at indiewire.com ...
You owe me the beer I just spit all over my laptop.
I would add “Casablanca”, “Princess Bride”, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “Judgement at Nuremburg”, and “Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” to that list as well. And that’s just off the top of my head. If I thought about it for a while I’d come up with a lot more.
Maybe just Any Body this time.
Did you notice Rita Moreno is in it!.....the new version
Add Singin’ in the Rain, Back to the Future, Rocky to the “please never make a remake” list.
> No one could replace Natalie Wood.
Robert Wagner did.
(sorry)
Rachel Ziegler as Maria…LOL
“Replace”, not “remove”. Lol.
“Beloved musical”. Beloved by who? I am Puerto Rican and the only thing this piece of crap musical did was to forever set stereotypes about us, us vs. them, etc.
Spielberg was confronted about this at a forum at the University of Puerto Rico, a student asking him how could he, a supposedly ultra creative person, just rehash a “racist” story like this under the guise of helping Puerto Rico after Hurricane María.
Of course, my nuyorican wife and sisters love it for some weird reason...
interesting that both versions have a young Jewish woman playing Maria
Got electricity on the island yet?
“So, how many Trans people are in it?”
Speaking of that, there’s a contestant on Jeopardy now that’s been winning bit. I’m wondering if the “women” possibly used to be a man. I don’t mean disrepect.
I’ll watch it right after the re-make of Gone With the Wind.
Yes, thank you.
If they only knew that a good chunk of the Puerto Rican population is of Sephardic ancestry, forcibly converted families.
They defund Officer Krupke?
Kind of like "Battle Beyond the Stars," a remake of Akira Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai"--only set in a distant galaxy, with Kurosawa's sixteenth-century Japanese knights transformed into astronauts flying spaceships.
So Puerto rician have a goodly chunk of Jewish ancestry? I didn’t know that.
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